Bottom Of The Barrel

Castro is stepping down in Cuba

81-year-old Fidel Castro, who has not been seen in public since his July 2006 surgery, announced he will not accept another term as president - ending the communist revolutionary's 49 years in power. Even though Castro is stepping down, does this mean it's time for change in Cuba? First we have to see who is elected to replace him. His brother Raul has been temporarily in power since July of 2006 and is favored as Fidel's replacement. The other major player is current Vice-President Carlos Lage Davila. What is clear that in either man Cuba is not going to see to the communist regime currently leading the country, at least not in the short term.

To Fidel's credit, over the past 40+ years he has built an educational system that boasted some of the highest rates of education and literacy in the Americas and a national health system which has [along with Canada] the lowest infant mortality rates in Americas. On the flipside, Castro has been widely criticize for the numerous human rights abuses and Marxist-Leninist political beliefs.

Let's hope, at a bare minimum, the US and Cuba can come to an agreement on Cuban Cigars. I know their has been a trade embargo in place since 1996, but couldn't we just get some cigars? I already know the risks of smoking and wouldn't mind to put those Cuban smokes against the rest of the world. Smoke 'em if you got 'em, that's what I say.

posted by TheWino @ 11:50 AM